-
HiCATTHigh-speed intensified Camera Attachment
1
HiC
ATT
1800
1A01
05/
02/2
018
Specifications are subject to change without prior notice.
The HiCATT is an intensified camera attachment specifically
designed for use in combination with high-speed cameras. It can be
used to amplify low light level images to a level up to 10000
times, thereby boosting the sensitivity of the attached high-speed
camera and enabling high-speed, low light-level imaging. The HiCATT
attaches to all major brand high-speed cameras by using a
high-quality lens coupling.
The hybrid Image Intensifier of the HiCATT consists of 2 stages
and can be delivered with a diameter of either 25 mm or 18 mm. The
first stage is a Gen II or Gen III proximity-focused MCP
inten-sifier and offers a very high, adjustable gain. The second
stage is a proximity-focussed Gen1 booster, producing the extra
high output brightness required for imaging at high frame rates. In
its gating mode the first stage functions as a fast electro-optical
shutter with effective exposure times down to the nanosecond
regime. The intensifier can be operated at repetition rates of up
to 2.5 MHz in burst.
A series of different intensifier control units provide
function-ality ranging from analog gain control to full digital
control in-cluding an internal trigger generator and programmable
gate trains.
With a wide range of Gen II and Gen III image intensifiers the
HiCATT offers high sensitivity down to single photon level and the
optimal spectral bandwidth for your application. Different models
covering a range in spectral sensitivity, phosphor, spa-tial
resolution, gain, linearity, minimum gate width and gating
frequency are available.
Standard, the first stage image intensifier of the HiCATT is
equipped with a single MCP. Dual MCP image intensifiers are
available on request.
KEY FEATURESEasy couplingFlexible and efficient lens coupling to
all major brand high-speed cameras (up to 300 000 fps)
High-resolution image intensifiersGen II and Gen III image
intensifiers offering the world’s highest resolution and
sensitivity in the UV, visible or near infrared
Small gate widthsGate width down to less than 3 ns (FWHM) with
minimal jitter
High gate repetition ratesUp to 300 kHz/2.5 MHz burst
Compact designFor an easy fit to your imaging or spectroscopy
setup
Overexposure protectionUser-definable anode current
limitation
APPLICATIONSParticle Image Velocimetry (PIV)
Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF)
Combustion
Single photon imaging
Bio- and Chemiluminescence Imaging
Plasma physics
Astronomy
Time-resolved imaging and spectroscopy
Specifications are subject to change without prior notice.
-
Image Intensifier Layout
When the HiCATT is mounted to a lens or microscope, the
in-coming light (a) is focused onto the entrance window of the
image intensifier (b). The image intensifier converts the optical
image to electrons at the photocathode, amplifies this electron
image at the micro-channel plate (MCP), and re-converts the
electrons into photons at the anode screen. The second image
intensifier (booster, c) further amplifies the signal. At the
output of the hybrid intensifier a relay objective (d) is mounted
with a magnification that matches the intensifier to the high-speed
camera sensor (e).
a) lightb) image intensifierc) boosterd) relay lense) cameraf )
gate unitg) MCP power supplyh) gate input (TTL)
a
b c d
hgf
e
For time-resolved imaging a gate unit (f ) is used together with
the image intensifier to yield an electro-optical shutter. The gate
unit either generates a high voltage pulse signal or follows an
external TTL pulse. The pulse width is variable and follows a TTL
input pulse over the range from less than 3 ns to DC at a
repetition rate up to 300 kHz.
IMAGE INTENSIFIER SPECIFICATIONMin. gate width (FWHM) HiCATT G
40n: 40ns
HiCATT G 2n: < 3 ns with Gen II, 5 ns with Gen III
Max. repetition frequency HiCATT G 40n: 100 kHzHiCATT G 2n: 300
kHz, 2.5 MHz in burst mode
First stage image intensifier Proximity-focused Gen II or Gen
III (filmless)
Second stage image intensifier Proximity-focused Gen I
Input window S20: Quartz. S25, GaAs, GaAsP: Borosilicate
glass
Sensitivity and spectral range See graph on page 3
(top-left)
Photon gain (max) S20: 40000, S25: 30000, GaAs: 30000, GaAsP:
50000
Equivalent Background Input S20: 0.006, S25: 0.008, GaAs: 0.024,
GaAsP: 0.006 photo e-/px/s
Phosphor P46 (P20, P24, P43 on request)
Input lens mount F-mount (C-mount on request)
Output lens mount F-mount (C-mount on request)
Available relay lenses 1:1, 2:1, 3:1
Typical resolution on output(lp/mm)
1:1 relay lens2:1 relay lens3:1 relay lens
S20: 33, S25: 31, GaAs: 28, GaAsP: 26S20: 66, S25: 62, GaAs: 56,
GaAsP: 52S20: 99, S25: 93, GaAs: 84, GaAsP: 78
HiCATT 18 HiCATT 25
Effective area Gen II: ø 17.5 mm, Gen III: 13.5x10 mm Gen II: ø
24.5 mm, Gen III: 16x16 mm
Input diameter 18 mm 25 mm
Input window thickness 5.5 mm 6.0 mm
-
Spectral response and phosphor decay time
1 2 3 4 5 6
0
25
50
75
100
125
150
175
200
225
200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900
Sens
itivi
ty (m
A/W
)
Wavelength (nm)
S25 Q.E.= 10%
Q.E.= 30%
Q.E.= 50%
GaAsP
GaAs
GaAsP enhanced red
Q.E.= 45%
Solar-blind
S20(UV)
S20
Gen II
Gen III
FIRST STAGE SECOND STAGE LENS CAMERA
Phosphor Efficiency Decay time to 10% Decay time to 1%
P43 (optional) 20 photons/e-/kV 1.5 ms 3 ms
P46 (standard) 6 photons/e-/kV 500 ns 2000 ns
P20 and P24 available on request
On the photocathode(1) photons get converted into electrons.
These are accelerated in an electric field towards the Multi
Channel Plate (MCP, 2) and hit the channel walls. Depending on the
voltage across the channel, multiple electrons are generat-ed by
secondary emission. This cloud of electrons gets accel-erated
towards the anode screen (3), where the electrons are converted
back into photons by the phosphor layer.
These photons are guided by a fiberoptic faceplate (3) to the
entrance of the second stage (booster).
Again photons are converted to electrons by the photocathode (4)
and accelerated to the anode screen (5) where the image appears.
The relay lens (6) transfers the image from the back of the
intensifier onto the mounted camera.
Intensifier working principle
-
External gatedelay generator
High speedcamera
Syncsignal
TTLgate
PC
Lens
Intensifiergain control
HiCATT
Powersupply
Shutter (optional)
Shuttercontrol
USB
High speedcamera
Syncsignal
PC
USB
or externaltrigger source )(
Lens HiCATT
Powersupply
Intensifiergate control /generator*
GateControl
* The intensifier gate generator can also operate as master
trigger source for camera, intensifier and other devices. Shutter
output is only available on intensifier gate generator.
Shuttercontrol
Shutter (optional)
GatingThe HiCATT can be used as an ultra-fast electro-optical
shutter by gating the image intensifier. This eliminates motion
blur and reduces the effective exposure time, thereby significantly
wid-ening the camera’s dynamic range. To prevent loss of intrascene
dynamic range when using a shorter gate the user can set a higher
MCP gain. The pulse width and frequency are user de-fined: any
pulse width from DC down to a few nanoseconds can be applied.
The table below summarizes the range of different intensifier
control units available for the HiCATT.
• The gain control models act as a power supply for the im-age
intensifier, gate pulse trains are supplied externally.
• The gate control model has its own pulse generator, giving the
user direct control of the gate width and gate delay.
• The gate generator models have an enhanced version of the
pulse generator with lower jitter. These models allow the image
intensifier to be synchronised to the exposure time of the camera
by supplying a trigger signal.
• All models allow the gate frequency to be set by an exter-nal
TTL signal.
Microsoft Windows control software is provided with all control
unit models, except the manual model. The software provides full
user control of the pulse width and delay, gating mode, and
intensifier gain. The control unit is connected to the computer via
USB (RS-232 is optional). For integration in third party soft-ware
a full command set is available.
The enhanced pulse generator of the gate generator models has 4
independent programmable pulse outputs (one of which is used for
gating) that provide precise timed TTL pulses with pulse widths
down to less than 3 ns (FWHM).
The intensifier gate generator is optionally available with
pro-grammable gate patterns. A frame storage facility allows
stor-ing many different delay/width-settings and the creation of
scenarios of freely definable gate sequences.
Example 1: alternating gate width
Example 2: repeated linear reducing gate width
Example 3: complex gate pattern
CONTROL UNITS AND GATING PROPERTIESControl Unit Model No control
unit Intensifier gain
controlIntensifier gate
controlIntensifier gate generator
Gain control Manual √ √ √Gate control External TTL External TTL
√ √Anode current limiter x √ √ √Internal trigger generator x x √
√
Programmable gate pattern x x 3 presets Optional (IC-PG-USB)
Shutter control x Optional Optional √Additional TTL outputs x x
2 3
Gating properties
Width range 10 ns – 10 s < 3 ns – 10 s
Resulting min pulse width (increments) 10 ns (10 ns) < 3 ns
(10 ps)
Pulse repetition rate < 10 MHz < 16 MHz
Delay jitter (width) 10 ns (< 250 ps RMS) < 35 ps (< 35
ps)
Insertion delay 20 ns 20 ns
Trigger input √ Programmable trigger level, divider and bursts
(m
out of n triggers)
-
External gatedelay generator
High speedcamera
Syncsignal
TTLgate
PC
Lens
Intensifiergain control
HiCATT
Powersupply
Shutter (optional)
Shuttercontrol
USB
External gatedelay generator
High speedcamera
Syncsignal
TTLgate
Lens
Intensifiermanual gaincontrol
HiCATT
Powersupply
Shutter (optional)
Shuttercontrol
High speedcamera
Syncsignal
PC
USB
or externaltrigger source )(
Lens HiCATT
Powersupply
Intensifiergate control /generator*
GateControl
* The intensifier gate generator can also operate as master
trigger source for camera, intensifier and other devices. Shutter
output is only available on intensifier gate generator.
Shuttercontrol
Shutter (optional)
intensifiermanual gaincontrol
intensifiergain control
intensifiergate control
Configurations
-
HiCATT 25 with1:1 relay lens
HiCATT 25 with2:1 relay lens
HiCATT 18 with 1:1 relay lens
Supply voltage 15 Vdc
Power 10 W
Operatingtemperature
5 ºC – 40 ºC
Operating humidity (non-condensing)
20% – 80%
Weight 3.5 kg
Supply voltage 15 Vdc
Power 10 W
Operatingtemperature
5 ºC – 40 ºC
Operating humidity (non-condensing)
20% – 80%
Weight 2.5 kg
Supply voltage 15 Vdc
Power 10 W
Operatingtemperature
5 ºC – 40 ºC
Operating humidity (non-condensing)
20% – 80%
Weight 2.2 kg
Dimensions and operating conditions
-
Gain controlIC-DG-USB
Gate controlIC-GC-USB
Gate generator / PIC-GG-USB / IC-PG-USB
Dimensions W x D x H 78 x 120 x 27 157 x 198 x 72 291 x 198 x 75
mm
Weight 0.5 kg 1 kg 1.4 kg
Working Voltage 90V AC to 264V AC 47-63 Hz 85V AC to 264V AC
47-63 Hz 85V AC to 264V AC 47-63 Hz
Power < 18 W < 25 W < 25 W
Fused 800mA T 800mA T
Entrée IEC 320 IEC 320 IEC 320
Safety IEC 60939:1988EN133200:1994
IEC 60939:1988EN133200:1994
IEC 60939:1988EN133200:1994
IP Rating 30 30 30
Indoor use safety class I
The HiCATT can be supplied with an optional mechanical shut-ter
for preventing damage to the image intensifier by high in-tensity
stray light or direct laser light. It is further recommend-ed to
close the shutter between measurements to increase the lifespan of
the image intensifier.
The shutter replaces the original F-mount adapter of the HiCATT.
The back focal distance of the F-mount input is unchanged so any
F-mount objective can be used. The shutter comes with a power
supply and a remote control. A timer can be used to automatically
close the shutter after a predetermined time. The remote control
has an ergonomic design and a large LCD screen. The shutter can
also be controlled by the software of the HiCATT or by an external
TTL signal.
SHUTTER SPECIFICATIONShutter UNIBLITZ VS35
Repetition Rate DC to 5 Hz (20 Hz burst of maximal 4 s, with 1
min between bursts)
Transfer time on opening/closing 13 ms
Minimal open time 20 ms
Lens mount F-mount
Shutter control via - Hand held remote control with push button
and timer- External TTL signal
Delay-timer specification 1 s to 99 hrs in 1 sec increments
TTL input 0-5 V, minimal pulse width of 20 ms
Mechanical shutter
-
1a
1b
1c
2
Applications
1a. Recording a blue gas flame from a Bunsen burner at high
frame rates poses a challenge. The light intensity of the flame is
low and to be able to see any details, especially in close-ups,
very short exposure times are required.
1b. Recording made with a standard high-speed cam-era at 1000
fps and 1 ms exposure time. On the one hand, a long exposure time
is needed to increase the sensitivity of the camera. On the other
hand, a short exposure time is necessary to prevent motion
blur.
1c. Recording made with the HiCATT in front of the high-speed
camera at 2000 fps and 15 µs exposure time (using gating). The
HiCATT makes it possible to capture flames at frame rates up to
300.000 fps. By us-ing gating fast electro-optical shutter function
of the image intensifier, the exposure time can be limited to a
value at which motion blur is no longer an issue.
2. Recording sequence made with the HiCATT in combination with a
high-speed camera. The recording shows a combustion cycle of a fuel
injection engine at 22.000 fps.
[email protected]
